Latest 7 magazine

Brian Ralfe’s alternative production has restored my faith in pantomime. Oh it’s not a slick show, far from it, but it more than makes up for it in laughs and entertainment. Andrew Stark’s script has the right tone but it is Smee who steals the show, a comic masterpiece. Director Robert James is almost as funny as Captain Hooker and his hand steers the show steadily along – well, fairly steadily. Brian’s costumes are show-stopping but the glue that binds all is Lee Tracey, whose Tinkerbell is priceless. Maybe not five stars, but five glittering rainbows for sure.
Pavilion Theatre, 25 February
4/5
Andrew Kay

Well cast as a campy cabaret star, Stuart Flynn from Brighton band The Dirty Cakes had us entranced with his deft delivery of intense, sparkly monologue from award-winning writer and director Orlando Reade. As the charismatic red
head casually primped away at a dressing table, he told, with flamboyant flair and sardonic wit, the dark tale of a heart broken by an Iranian lover seeking refuge in liberal Brighton. Intimate anecdotes cleverly contrasted fluffy gay stereotypes (Gaynor and Bassey) with the stark reality of taboos existing elsewhere, gradually building to a grim conclusion.
A gripping script and class performance: cracking combo!
Komedia, 23 February
5/5
Monica Perdoni

This is a brilliant gem of an event, each month bringing insights into the successful and the creative as host Briggy Smale eases out their histories and lets the stories tell themselves. This month the star was John Howard Davies, former BBC Head of Comedy, as well as producer/director for the likes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Goodies. Aside from this prestigious career, there was also mention of his early start as a child star playing David Lean’s Oliver Twist, and an endearing reference to Anthony Newman’s Sykes being more terrifying for his breath than gate. Davies was a captivating raconteur, in turns telling tales and dropping tips all the while proving utterly engaging.
The other guest of the night was pop arranger and musician Sally Herbert, whose history working with everyone from The Commodores to Radiohead made her both an informative and likeable interviewee.
The Basement, 4 March
4/5
Victoria Nangle

pic: Hannah Brackenbury

What joy to see a play in which the words are equal to the cast and the cast equal to the words. Brenda Blethyn did not disappoint with a heart-wrenching portrayal of a woman whose love is tinged by tragedy. Niall Buggy was captivating as the lonely husband, desperate for the company of the younger woman, played with great restraint by Beth Cooke and all three delivered with precision and with power. But the star of the show had to be Edna O’Brine’s script, a rich, warm, velvety blanket of prose that washed us along, lifting and dropping us like a spring tide.
Theatre Royal, 1 March
5/5
Andrew Kay